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Translator & Proofreader: OssanTL
After treating the children, Zeros and Iris were invited to the village chief’s house.
The house was simple but filled with well-worn furniture, giving it a charming rural feel.
However, despite this village’s calm appearance, it was suffering from the damage caused by fairies.
The stench that wafted faintly from under the floor was truly terrible. The fact that it was confined to the inside of the house was still a relief.
“Isn’t it terrible…are the fairies playing pranks on all the houses in the village?”
“Indeed…we’re at our wits’ end as well.”
The fairies were hedonistic and never listened to humans.
They laughed and rolled around in amusement as they watched the panicked villagers.
“The fairies have a settlement, but their range of activity is broad. They’re like crows.”
“Worse than crows. They scavenge for garbage, but crows don’t do such terrible things.”
“Oh? They relentlessly attack passers-by who walk near their nests, though. Well, only during the breeding season.”
“That’s also a bit annoying…”
Iris must have realized the severity of the situation with the fairies.
She probably didn’t expect it to be this bad.
“Anyway, we’d like to request something from you.”
“Is it to exterminate the fairies? Well, we can’t just let them get away with something this terrible.”
“I’m sorry… but how about we pay you with all of the village’s maintenance funds? This village is quite poor, and we must save money to buy crop seeds…”
“No, we’ll take the reward from the eliminated fairies. Items like [Fairy Wings] and [Attribute Magic Stones] can be sold for a reasonable price.”
“Oh… thank you for taking on the job!”
“We’re already on this boat and need to gather materials anyway. It’s just that fairy materials aren’t sold at the material shop…”
The Metis Holy Kingdom, which enshrines the Four Gods Teachings as its state religion, protects fairies and exerts pressure on other countries to do the same. As a major power, they try to avoid war, and small countries have no choice but to accept their demands as much as possible.
As a result, fairy materials are not readily available, which is a tough situation for alchemists and pharmacists.
“Well, we need to locate the fairy village somehow. Maybe we can try using a familiar for reconnaissance.”
“Familiar? Ojisan, do you have a familiar?”
“It’s more like a magic paper. Well, it’s a pseudo-creature created with magic power.”
“Is that an item? Oh no, I want it!”
“I’m not giving it to you. [Magic paper] is no joke, you know. It takes quite a bit of time to create.”
“Then, can I buy it from you when I save enough money? Reconnaissance items are a must-have for mages, right?”
“…Iris, you’re becoming less and less reserved, aren’t you?”
Iris is trying to live as a mage in this world.
Perhaps she’s also working as a mercenary because she wants to enjoy adventure, but Zeros finds it dangerous.
Making judgments with a game-like sense can lead to painful mistakes someday. In fact, she previously made a blunder of being caught by thieves.
In this world, sometimes it’s necessary to be prepared to kill people. It’s a dilemma on how to convey that.
“Haa~… it’s a headache.”
“What’s wrong? Why do you look so tired? And why are you looking at me with pity in your eyes?”
“You look like you’re having so much fun…”
“Is it just my imagination, or do I feel like I’m being made fun of?”
As expected, even for the Ossan, it’s hard to show such a pure person the dirty side of the world.
The issue was whether to prepare her to kill people to avoid danger or to keep watching her as she is now.
“Oh, by the way, I haven’t served you tea yet. Yui! Sorry to ask, but could you prepare some tea?”
“Sure thing, please wait a bit more. I’m boiling water right now.”
Zeros heard a young woman’s voice.
He figured she must be the village chief’s granddaughter, so he decided to listen to the current situation of fairy damage for a while.
He thought it would be useful as political material if he reported it to Duke Delsasis.
After a while, a woman came from the back carrying a tray with tea. At that moment, Zeros couldn’t hide his surprise.
She had chestnut-coloured hair that was arranged neatly. She seemed like a gentle, elegant Yamato Nadeshiko-style woman but wore a priestess outfit. Moreover, it was the beginner priestess outfit that players equipped first in [Sword and Sorcery].
“…huh!?”
“Hm? What’s wrong? Is there something on my face?”
“No…”
What surprised him the most was that she was pregnant.
She was probably around four or five months pregnant. However, the reincarnators were not supposed to be in this world at that time.
In other words, if she came to this world while pregnant, the story about the Four Gods reincarnating her would be a lie.
This meant it wasn’t a reincarnation to another world but rather a transfer to another world.
“….Ojisan?”
“What is it? Iris-san.”
“I think it’s not good for a pregnant woman to be here? Her husband might kill us.”
“I can somewhat guess how you see me. It’s not very flattering…”
Zeros felt a strange misunderstanding from Iris.
The woman called Yui placed the tea and sat quietly in the chair.
“Village chief, is she your granddaughter? You must be excited to have a great-grandchild on the way,”
“I wish that were the case, but unfortunately, she is not my granddaughter. About four months ago, I found this girl collapsed in front of the village and helped her out. She didn’t have anywhere to go, so I’ve been taking care of her here.”
“I see…”
“Ojisan…about four months ago?”
They’re probably the same, but just to be sure, He’ll try to probe a little deeper.
He immediately decided it would be good to ask a question only a reincarnated person would understand.
“Yui-san, can I ask you something…?”
“Sure, what is it?”
“When I say ‘Saiyans,’ what comes to mind?”
“Huh? …Nappa, maybe?”
The atmosphere suddenly became tense.
“Why of all people… It’s weird, K*jina-san (カ〇ジナさん). Do you like muscular guys?”
(do you guys know any reference for this, I think it’s from JoJo?)
“Huh? Well, he just looks like a cute uncle. Is that strange?”
“That’s just…at least go for B*ta. Yui-san, do you have a thing for old guys?”
“Ado-kun said the same thing. What’s wrong with it? He’s got a charming personality, doesn’t he?”
“Sorry…I don’t know what face to make in times like this.”
“… just laugh, I think. Please, laugh!”
Yui sulks.
But the next moment, she looks at Zelos and the others with a surprised “Huh!?
“Ado-kun… Are you the sub-leader of the [Tonkotsu Ramen with Extra Pork] party?”
“You know Ado-kun!?”
“I’m Zeros, leader of the party [Devotion to One’s Hobbies Leads to Profoundness]. We used to party with Ado-kun a lot. He was a great production class.”
“Ojisan party, that’s what it was called… [Annihilators] would have been better.”
Iris was surprised by the terrible party name rather than the fact that Yui was a reincarnated person.
“Oh, you folks know each other. Well, then, I’ll excuse myself… I’m sure you all have plenty to talk about.”
“Oh, no need to worry about that.”
“It’s okay even if Ojisan is here. Seems like we’re indirectly acquainted through Ojisan.”
“ Well, we finally found a clue about her husband, so I’ll rest in the back. Can’t keep up with you young folks anymore.”
The village chief said that and disappeared into the back room.
Yui is pregnant, so they can’t push her too hard.
It’s probably best to just get some basic information.
“Can you tell us about your situation, Yui-san? Anything before you came to this world.”
“Y-yes, I understand… Well, you see, I-”
Yui, whose real name was Yuka Funabashi, was on a date with her childhood friend, Toshiyuki Ando, who went by the avatar name [ADO] in the game [Sword and Sorcery].
Toshiyuki, who was five years older than Yuka, was her boyfriend. However, he was a college student with an uncertain future. They had agreed to have a chaste relationship until Yuka finished high school.
Their parents also approved of their relationship. They insisted that they wait until Toshiyuki got a job before getting married.
As evidenced by her pregnancy, their chaste relationship had turned into a sexual one.
Their parents were understandably angry and pressured Toshiyuki to find a job immediately.
He worked hard and eventually secured a job offer, which allowed him to buy Yuka a [DreamWorks] headset to continue their virtual dates in [Sword and Sorcery].
This was his way of showing consideration for Yuka, who couldn’t go out much due to her pregnancy.
However, due to the Four Gods’ careless tossing away of the [Evil God], Yuka ended up being reincarnated into this world.
Well, it’s uncertain whether it was reincarnation or not, but that’s roughly what happened.
“At that time… I got separated from Ado-kun.”
“Yes… all I remember is being surrounded by black mist. Um, do you know where Ado-kun is?”
“Sorry, haven’t met him yet. But knowing him, he’ll do something.”
“How can you say that, Ojisan? Maybe…?”
“No ‘maybes’! If Ado-kun is in this world, he’ll start doubting the Four Gods just like me… and he’ll definitely start causing trouble.”
“You can say that for sure… You guys were close, huh?”
“In a way, you could say he was my disciple. Our fighting styles were similar.”
Zeros and Ado are similar.
They stick their noses into various places out of curiosity and take everything they want.
Moreover, they shared similar interests and hobbies that they bonded over. It’s very sure that if they were in this world, they would inevitably take some action.
“Well, if something happens, he might come looking for me. He has good instincts,”
“Well, if you meet him somewhere, please tell him about me? I have a feeling that he is in this world.”
““Oh, I see… that’s pretty eager of you.”“
Zeros weren’t sure if Ado was in this world, but he promised to let him know if they ever met. It was a comforting promise, but Zeros hoped Ado was in this world.
It was not only for Yui’s sake but there was another intention behind it.
“Well then, I guess I’ll start on the job the village chief gave me. It’s just volunteering, though. Oh, Iris-san, please stay by Yui-san’s side. She’s pregnant, after all.”
“Okay, got it. Then I’ll tell Her about Ojisan’s sister. It’d be terrible if she got tricked.”
“Good! Please teach her thoroughly so that there won’t be more victims of that scumbag. She’s the worst kind of human.”
“Sure thing, leave it to me.”
With those parting words, Zeros left the village chief’s house. As he did, he heard Yui’s voice behind him, saying, ‘Eh!? There’s such a terrible person?’
Zeros muttered to himself, ‘Yes, there is.’
◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇
As dusk approached, Zelos walked along the outskirts of the village.
Despite the peaceful nature of the village, there was a lingering stench of decay. The damage inflicted by the fairies was severe.
“Is this area okay?”
With those words, Zeros took out three [Arcana] Cards from his inventory.
One was for forming a familiar, the second for sharing visual information during the investigation, and the third for recording what the familiar sees onto a Magic Paper, which was about the size of a drawing paper.
Zeros infused magic into the Arcana cards, and an owl-shaped familiar appeared. He then prepared three magic stones and fed them to the familiar.
This was like a battery, where the magic stones would replenish the magic power Zeros infused before it ran out. This allowed for longer operation time.
“Alright then, off you go!”
The owl soared into the sky and circled above for a while.
Zeros focused on the second [Arcana] and began searching for the location of the fairy village. The target was the [Mana Pool].
Fairies are a spirit born in places with high concentrations of magic. The difference between fairies and spirits is that fairies have weak personalities. In contrast, spirits are faithful to their attributes and live in different habitats. For example, fire spirits live in volcanoes, and wind spirits drift through the atmosphere.
However, fairies settle in areas with high concentrations of magic and replenish their magic before moving around and causing trouble.
When their internal magic decreases, they return to the [Mana Pool] to replenish it before resuming their activity.
The [Mana Pool] is often stagnant, meaning that it’s safe to assume that spirits are born from [clean Mana Pools], and fairies are born from [even slightly polluted Mana Pools].
As the stagnation in the [Mana Pool] becomes more severe, it becomes [Miasma] and eventually pollutes the natural world. In the worst-case scenario, demons can be born, making it dangerous.
That’s why Zeros searched for places with abnormally high magic concentration through his familiar.
“Northeast? Towards the mountains, huh…”
Sensing the detected magic, Zeros directed his familiar towards that direction. Flying through the sky, the familiar swiftly arrived at the intended location.
But then…
“Huh?!”
It was a place so gruesome that He couldn’t help but let out a cry.
Animal corpses were scattered everywhere, and He could see what had happened there.
It was a playground for the fairies – a living hell where they dismembered animals while still alive.
‘This is terrible… it’s like R-18-rated stuff. Can’t show this to Iris-san… it’s not good for her education.’
There were guts and decayed body parts all over the place. But their destination was deeper inside, so he moved his familiar towards it.
‘Ugh, it’s worse than I imagined… I think I’m gonna puke. Bleugh!’
There was a swarm of countless fairies fluttering around.
At first glance, it seemed like a fantastic sight. Still, the fairies’ light illuminated the countless corpses of beasts, and the surrounding area was covered in blood.
Even now, the fairies were cheerfully dismembering small animals with innocent smiles. It was hard to believe that they revered such creatures as sacred.
Among them, the most gruesome was the fairy princess [Fairy Rose], a red-haired girl with beautiful wings like a swallowtail butterfly, who still joyfully dragged out internal organs.
The victims were probably bandits, and their bodies were too horrible to look at. They were not even allowed to die after being subjected to such a fate.
‘Peeling off the skin, gouging out the eyes… Those words are too mild for this. This is clearly the work of demons.’
This is the [Fairy Feast], a special ability of [Fairy Rose] that fixes the souls within a certain area.
I knew that fairies were capable of terrible things, but even in [Sword and Sorcery], it wasn’t this gruesome. The reality was a nightmare beyond his imagination.
‘I should record this… but is it okay to show this to others? If I had something like this, they would question my sanity.’
While saying that, he transferred the ongoing scene to the third piece of [Magic Paper].
But then, [Fairy Rose] noticed it. When transferring the image, a small amount of magic power leaked out.
The fairies, who were clumps of magic power, seemed to be sensitive to even a slight amount of magic power leakage.
[Fairy Rose] approached at a furious speed.
‘Uh oh, self-destruct!’
At that moment, Zeros’ vision blacked out.
When he slowly opened his eyes, he found himself in the middle of a rural village.
“Phew… that was not good for my heart. But still…”
Zeros sighed as he looked at the drawing transcribed on the third piece of magic paper.
The Ossan was in a dilemma about whether to show the villagers this picture or not.
He felt nothing but tragedy would come out of it, no matter how he looked.
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